Towards the 80th anniversary of National Day (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025), the Vietnam Drama Theater collaborated with Korean artists to perform the musical "Banh Mi Cafe" - depicting the image of President Ho Chi Minh and the patriotic Vietnamese people.
This is the first time the Vietnamese national liberation revolution and the nation's beloved leader have been portrayed in the language of musical theater. The artists are rehearsing hard to perform the work on the evening of August 15 at the Star Theater, Hanoi .
VietnamPlus Electronic Newspaper reporter had a conversation with director Cho Joon Hui about this meaningful work.
Admiring the great personality of Uncle Ho
- Stage plays about leaders often have serious and direct names. Can you explain why this musical is called “Banh Mi Cafe”?
Director Cho Joon Hui: Coffee and bread are two famous specialties in Vietnam, foods and drinks that are closely associated with people's daily lives. I learned about this through the media in Korea. To me, this is a representative image of the majority of Vietnamese people. And those anonymous people are also the main characters in the musical, indirectly praising President Ho Chi Minh.
Uncle Ho is great and the Vietnamese people are also great in the resistance war for independence and freedom, so I want to make a musical about the nameless, silent heroes. If I made a play praising the central character, Uncle Ho, it would be very easy, but what I want is to show the spirit of President Ho through ordinary people, through nameless soldiers. In the musical, his spirit and ideology cover the entire nation, all classes of people, expressed through each character in the work. That is why we chose to name the work "Banh Mi Cafe."
- The musical “Banh Mi Cafe” is attracting public attention because this is the first time a serious topic like revolution and Uncle Ho has been presented on the musical stage. What angle will you exploit to create highlights and differences for your work?
Director Cho Joon Hui: The play has a realistic social context of Vietnam during the painful and famine-filled war years and praises the patriotic people, including the great contribution of the petty bourgeoisie who devoted not only money but also sacrificed their lives to join the resistance and the revolution. The character representing the petty bourgeoisie in this work is exploited from a real historical figure.
Despite facing countless difficulties and hardships, the Vietnamese people still maintained their faith in victory and refused to submit to any oppression from the enemy. The indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people in the August Revolution of 1945 was a noble expression of patriotism and solidarity, thereby gaining independence and freedom and affirming the indomitable will in the struggle for national liberation of the Vietnamese people.
- What detail in this script brings you the most emotion?
Director Cho Joon Hui: I am very interested in history. As soon as I read the script, I felt a deep sympathy because Vietnam and Korea both experienced war and had to fight for national independence. If Vietnam has leader Ho Chi Minh, Korea also has a hero who is considered the “father of the nation.” He also went abroad to find a way to save the country, just like Uncle Ho.
Unfortunately, theater is no longer popular in Korea. Due to the rapid development of the entertainment industry, people are not interested in theater, especially works on historical themes. Therefore, I put a lot of my heart into the play “Banh Mi Cafe” – not only because of my personal admiration for President Ho Chi Minh but also because of the similarities between the two countries’ histories, I hope to contribute to creating a work that has the meaning of cultural exchange between Vietnam and Korea.
What impressed me most in this script was the spirit of tolerance of the Vietnamese people in general and Uncle Ho in particular, which was clearly shown. The Vietnamese people are a very strong, peace-loving people, and only a strong people can forgive the enemy, those who oppressed and caused their people to suffer.
I visited Uncle Ho's Mausoleum to better understand his personality and career. His immortal sayings such as "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom" have great ideological value and will be expressed in this musical.
Impressed with Vietnamese stage
- What brought you to a musical project in Vietnam, about a difficult topic like revolutionary war and national heroes?
Director Cho Joon Hui: Since high school, I have been very impressed with Vietnam's performing arts, which are very unique and rich in tradition. I still remember the first work I saw was water puppetry. It was a scene about working life and family life. I found it very interesting and funny.
Last year, while teaching at the Department of Theater, Dongguk University, one of my students introduced me to the artists of the Vietnam Drama Theater. I went to Vietnam and watched a political play by People's Artist Xuan Bac on the theme of revolution. Since then, I have learned more about Vietnamese performing arts and was very impressed with the theatrical spirit of the artists. From a professional perspective, I believe that Vietnamese theater plays an important and prominent role in the Asian art scene.
From that connection and thanks to my student, I was able to access the script “Banh Mi Cafe” by author Seo Sang Wan. Together with Artistic Director Park Hyun Woo and Artistic Director Kieu Minh Hieu of the Vietnam Drama Theater, we decided to join hands to stage the play in the form of a musical.
- In recent years, musicals have become more popular in Vietnam, but this genre is still considered a genre with a limited audience. Is using musicals to convey messages about revolutionary war a difficult problem for you?
Director Cho Joon Hui: The artists of the Vietnam Drama Theater are all experienced in acting and have participated in many plays on revolutionary themes, however musicals are still a new field for them.
However, I do not consider this a difficulty. Looking at the artists' determined eyes and witnessing their professionalism, I believe that they will do well in their roles in this project.
I told them: In the 90s when musicals were introduced to Korea, I, like them now, had absolutely no understanding of this genre. After that, I studied and practiced, but the audience watched us perform and sing without understanding what we were doing. They didn't like it right away, but gradually, musicals were accepted by the public. After 30 years, Korea has had world-famous musical artists. Vietnamese people love music and art, so I believe that musicals will develop in Vietnam.
Since the end of 2024, the Korean creative team has started working with the Vietnam Drama Theater to promptly launch the work to the audience on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
I decided to reduce the amount of choreography so as not to make it difficult for the artists. They practiced very seriously, starting with vocal training, singing practice, then combining singing and acting. You will see them acting and singing very professionally in this play.
Language barriers are not a problem because music and art are our common language.
- Thank you for sharing./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dan-dien-han-quoc-tam-huyet-dung-nhac-kich-ve-bac-ho-va-cach-mang-viet-nam-post1049885.vnp
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